Can the Minnesota Wild make the NHL playoffs? Exploring their playoff-clinching scenarios

Minnesota Wild v Los Angeles Kings
Can the Minnesota Wild make the NHL playoffs?

The Minnesota Wild are currently outside of a playoff spot as they are in 10th place in the Western Conference.

With the top-eight teams in the conference making the playoffs, the odds of Minnesota making the postseason are unlikely at this point.

Can the Minnesota Wild make the playoffs?

The Minnesota Wild are eight points back of a playoff spot, and with 10 games to go in the season, it's far-fetched the team will make the playoffs.

MoneyPuck is giving Minnesota a slim 5.2% chance of making the postseason, as the Wild likely need to go at worst 8-2 in their final 10 games and get some help with the Vegas Golden Knights and St. Louis Blues losing some games.

The Wild play Vegas twice in their final 10 matchups, so Minnesota needs to win those to make the playoffs. The Wild also have a fairly easy schedule as they play the San Jose Sharks, the Chicago Blackhawks, the Seattle Kraken and the Ottawa Senators, which should be five wins.

Minnesota did pick up a 3-1 win over San Jose on Thursday, which was much-needed for the team.

Wild forward Matt Boldy discussed the importance of their upcoming outings and underlined what the team needs to do.

“You’re trying to win every night, obviously,” Boldy said. “These (games) are a little bit more important. We’ve got to get these points to push to try to get in that spot, but you can’t stress about them. I think that doesn’t end up helping, if you sit there and you’re just constantly stressing and worrying. It comes down to the guys in our locker room playing the right way and finding a way to win.”

Ultimately, it is too little too late for the Minnesota Wild, as they can't clinch a playoff spot on their own. Instead, the Wild need help from other teams losing and going well below .500 in the final 10 games.

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